WKRP in DC
by Ceeg
Summary: Amanda's neighbor used to be Herb Tarlek


TITLE: WKRP in DC  
  
AUTHOR: Ceeg  
  
RATING: PG  
  
DISCLAIMER: Scarecrow and Mrs King is copyrighted by Warner Bros and Shoot the Moon Production Company. Typical lines, situations, clichés, etc are borrowed from SMK as needed. WKRP in Cincinnati was produced by MTM. No infringement of rights is intended.  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I call this a crossover, but I'm just using the Buck/Herb connection as an excuse for my story. Most of the action is between Lee and Amanda.  
  
TIME SETTING: October 1987, Buck knows they're married because he's so darn nosey, but not the family or Agency.  
  
  
Lee Stetson and Amanda (King) Stetson lounged on the family room sofa, enjoying a rare night alone at home. They cuddled together, not watching the new CBS Friday night lineup.  
  
"Mmm," Amanda murmured as Lee nibbled a path across her jaw and down her neck, "I think 'Dallas' will be just as good tonight as when we didn't watch it two weeks ago."  
  
"I aim to please!" Lee smiled at the implied compliment. "Do we really have the whole night together?"  
  
"Yes, the boys are with Joe for the weekend, and Mother and Curt are on a road trip to Ocean City. They're going to Assateague Island tomorrow, so won't be home till late Saturday, or maybe even Sunday." Amanda could hardly believe their good fortune herself. "It's late enough in the season there won't be a lot of other people around, but it should still be warm enough to enjoy!"  
  
"I wonder how we're going to manage to occupy ourselves for 24 hours," Lee teased, moving to capture her lips with his. Amanda responded eagerly, and the kiss quickly deepened and became more passionate.   
  
As she started to unbutton his shirt, they heard a tapping on the back door. Their passion-darkened eyes met in surprise.  
  
"Are you seeing another spy, Amanda?"  
  
"Silly!" Amanda trailed her fingers across the exposed flesh of his chest, and gave him a quick kiss. "It's probably one of the neighbors. Give me a second, I'll get rid of whoever it is!"  
  
Lee reluctantly released her. "I love you! Hurry back." He called as she rose, adjusted and smoothed her clothing, and went into the kitchen.   
  
"Amanda! Thank goodness you're home!" Buck exclaimed. "I locked myself out, and I'm expecting company. Can you come over and open my door for me?"  
  
Overhearing, Lee came into the kitchen, and wrapped his arms around Amanda. "Hi, Buck. Amanda has your spare key?"  
  
"Hi, Lee! She's the neighborhood locksmith, didn't you know?"   
  
Amanda blushed as Lee looked at her with interest. "The boys volunteered my services when Mrs Trawley locked her keys in the car, and then word got around..." her explanation trailed off as he grinned and shook his head.  
  
"That's my Amanda!" he should have known, if anybody could find a use for Agency skills in suburbia it was Amanda.  
  
Amanda winked at him, as she pulled a thin, metal pick out a nearby flowerpot. Pulling the door shut behind them, they followed Buck back over to his house. Lee was impressed as she made short work of Buck's kitchen door lock. She really did have a knack for lock-picking, good thing she used her skills for good rather than evil. And he could hardly count the number of times her skills had come in handy!  
  
Buck dragged them into his kitchen and started collecting snacks and vegetables from the fridge and cupboard. "Say, can you guys help me out? My friends are going to be here any minute, I'm really running late." He handed Amanda a knife and a cutting board without even waiting for a response.  
  
"Sure, Buck," Amanda faltered as she started placing carrots and celery on the board for slicing. She shrugged helplessly at Lee, who was getting a crash course in how to use Buck's blender.   
  
Buck was a real bulldozer, he'd met Lee even before Mother and the boys, barging in as a friendly neighbor, never considering that he might not be wanted, or that he might be interrupting something. They'd soon learned it was pointless to resist his overtures.  
  
"Who are these friends of yours?" Amanda asked curiously.  
  
"Oh, they're from back home in Ohio. From that radio station I told you I used to work for. I haven't seen them since my divorce, but we've kept in touch. They're in town for some kind of radio convention. They're a great bunch of people, Amanda, I know you'll enjoy meeting them!" Buck desperately wanted Lee and Amanda to stay for his party, he didn't want the old gang to think he'd been unable to make friends.  
  
The doorbell rang, and Buck scurried off, leaving Lee and Amanda with the kitchen duties.  
  
"This reminds me of the first time we were married," Lee grumbled as he started assembling strawberry daiquiris.   
  
"What!?!" Amanda laughed as she looked up from making carrot sticks.  
  
"Remember, the Betsy Ross Estates? The hair dryers?" Lee abandoned the blender and came up behind his wife. His arms encircled her waist, he pulled her back against his chest, and nuzzled the side of her neck. "At least that was in the line of duty and we had nothing better to do! Tonight we're stuck at Buck's party and our empty house is going to waste!" he complained.  
  
"Oh, yeah, that was an interesting party." Laying down her knife, Amanda reached up with one hand to stroke the side of his face, while the other hand rested on his arm. She then turned in his embrace and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I sure hope the police don't crash this one!"  
  
Their lips met, Lee's arms tightened, drawing her closer. He leaned back against the kitchen counter, aligning Amanda's body with his own. The kitchen was becoming increasingly warm, when Buck burst back through the door.  
  
"Hey, guys, the other guests are arriving! Come help me serve the drinks!" Buck called out, then, realizing he'd interrupted something, "Oops, sorry..." Buck grabbed a tray of cheese and crackers, and beat a hasty retreat. "Come out and meet the gang!" he hollered back as the kitchen door swung shut behind him.  
  
Lee's hold on Amanda loosened, but his hands remained clasped behind her back. She leaned away from him, and smoothed his shirt front with her hands. "I guess we better continue this 'discussion' later."   
  
With a lingering kiss, they reluctantly separated and returned to their kitchen duties. Amanda quickly arranged the carrots, celery, and other crudités on a tray, surrounding a tub of veggie dip. She blew Lee a kiss as she exited to the living room.   
  
Lee followed shortly with a tray of drinks. The last drink on his tray went to a rather stunning blonde. As he hesitated briefly in her presence, Amanda was soon at his side. She removed his tray and tossed it on a nearby table.   
  
"Scarecrow, you're drooling," Amanda nudged him in the ribs with her elbow, then put her arm around him. She then held out her right hand to the other woman. "Hi, I'm Amanda, and this is my husband, Phil Jackson."  
  
"I'm Jennifer," Jennifer Marlowe, smiled demurely in return, and shook hands with both of them. "You must be Herb's new neighbors?"  
  
"Herb?" Amanda smiled in confusion.  
  
"Oh, Buck, that is. We called him Herb."  
  
Lee was even more confused, "Who's Phil Jackson?"  
  
"You are, dear," Amanda told him. She smiled at Jennifer, "Sorry, that was a private joke, my husband's name is Lee. Excuse me, we need to get some more drinks."  
  
"OK..." Jennifer retreated to another group, as Amanda grabbed Lee's hand and the empty drinks tray and dragged him back to the kitchen.   
  
"Amanda!" Lee exclaimed in surprise as they reentered the kitchen, "Are you jealous???"  
  
"I'm sorry," Amanda avoided looking him in the eye, "That was silly of me, I don't know what came over me!"  
  
"I don't even look at other women anymore." He claimed, pulling her into his arms.  
  
"Of course not, dear, and I never look at other men."  
  
"What other men?" Lee questioned suspiciously.  
  
"Nobody, sugarpie, honeybunch, I only have eyes for you," Amanda reassured him, clasping her hands behind his back and smiling up into his eyes. He gave her an 'oh, you!' look, and they leaned towards each other for another kiss. The doorbell echoed from the other room, and they separated again.  
  
"I love you! Now help me make another batch of drinks." Lee pushed her towards the refrigerator.  
  
"I love you!" Amanda grabbed the ice bin from the freezer and returned to his side. Within minutes they had whipped up another batch of drinks and returned to the living room.  
  
Buck introduced them to the rest of his friends. "These are WKRP's morning and nighttime DJs, Dr Johnny Fever and Venus Flytrap. Les Nessman is the news director. Andy Travis is the program director, Bailey is the news and programming assistant. Arthur Carlson is the General Manager, Jennifer is his secretary. I was the Sales Manager."  
  
Lee and Amanda soon discovered that the WKRP staff was an unusual and interesting bunch. Amanda found that Jennifer was actually intelligent and articulate, not just the stereotypical dumb blonde she had originally taken her for. Bailey told them an interesting story about a Russian hog farmer she and Andy had tried to help defect.  
  
"But they told us he couldn't defect in Cincinnati, he would have to go to Cleveland." Bailey related with Andy by her side. "He was a charming man, I don't think we ever found out what happened after all."  
  
"Russian defectors! Sounds like a good story for a documentary!" Amanda was finding out that life in Ohio wasn't very normal, either. Lee however was becoming impatient to spend some time alone with his wife. He mentally reviewed the room and decided that everybody had had at least one drink, therefore his services as a bartender shouldn't be needed anymore.  
  
"Hey, Buck... Herb," Lee called to him, "Thanks for having us over, but Amanda and I have a really busy day tomorrow, so we're going to get going." He grabbed Amanda's hand and started dragging her towards the kitchen.  
  
"Sure, Lee... Phil." He smirked at them. "Amanda. Thanks for helping out, you guys, see you around."  
  
There were general calls of 'Good-night' as they exited through the kitchen and out the back door. Lee hastened Amanda across the drive to their own kitchen door.  
  
"Damn!" Lee smacked himself on the forehead, "I forgot to take a key. Did you remember?"  
  
"Who needs a key?" Amanda produced the lock pick from her back pocket and quickly gained access.   
  
Lee scooped her up in his arms and carried her across the threshold. "I love you, Amanda" he murmured, kicking the door shut behind them.  
  
"I know." Amanda buried her fingers in his hair as she claimed his lips.  
  
The End  



End file.
